Indianapolis, Ind. – Indiana State women's basketball made it unnervingly close, but it escaped with a 61-60 win over IUPUI on Thursday evening. ISU improves to 6-1 overall on the 2014 season and secured its eighth straight road win with the victory.

Senior guard Stephanie Wittman led Indiana State with a career-high 14 points while going 6-for-8 from the field on the night. Senior guard Travecia Franklin and senior forward Racheal Mahan each added nine points as Indiana State shot 42.3 percent on the night.

Four different players had four rebounds to lead the Sycamores on the glass, including redshirt junior Cierra Ceazer who saw her first minutes of action in her ISU career.

Out of sync with 12:37 to play, IUPUI cut the deficit down to seven. Mahan's strong move to the bucket drew a foul. She extended the Sycamores lead back to 10, 54-44, as ISU drew its seventh foul with 10:52 to left to play in the half.

Things went quiet for the Sycamores at the eight minute mark in the second half, as it gave the Jags room for a 13-0 run in the following six minutes. IUPUI took its first lead of the night, 57-56, on a pair of free throws by Jenna Gunn with 2:42 to play.

Mahan tied it back up as she made the front end of a one-and-one while Zurek's steal with 1:45 left set up for a fast break transition as she drew the foul going in for the layup. She made both free throws to give ISU a 59-57 lead, but IUPUI came within one on a free throw by Akilah Sims.

An ISU turnover set up Sims for the go-ahead jumper as Mahan gave ISU a chance when she picked up the offensive board and got fouled with 23 seconds to play.

She hit both free throws, giving ISU the 61-60 lead with 23 seconds left in the game. IUPUI had a chance for the buzzer beater, as guard Kelsi Byrd's shot rimmed in and out to help ISU sneak out with a victory.

The Sycamores picked up 13 steals on the night to accompany 20 forced turnovers. Ceazer and senior forward Chelsea Small each picked up three while Franklin and Mahan had two apiece.

Small chipped in six points and three boards while Senior forward Jasmine Grier came off the bench for a team-high two blocks to go along with four points, a steal and a rebound.

Indiana State led 34-26 at the break, behind 10 points from Wittman and shooting 46.9 percent from the field as a team.

The Sycamores opened the game up on an 8-0 run, holding the Jags scoreless for the first 3:40. Wittman picked up a steal and took it coast-to-coast while the defense picked up a shot clock violation to help swing momentum early.

Junior guard Alexis Newbolt took it the length of the court off a Ceazer steal to give ISU a nine point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half.

Small picked up a bucket, beating traffic in the lane with 6:43 to play as Indiana State took its first double-digit lead of the night. A 5-0 run by the Jags closed the gap with under four minutes to play before the break on a good triple by Nicole Rogers.

Indiana State returns to Hulman Center for the final time in 2014 when it hosts Indianapolis on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.

For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.